DON’T EVER give up on the Gilmer Buckeyes. That’s a lesson that some early-leaving fans from the team’s Homecoming game at Buckeye Stadium last Friday night learned. It was apparent that some had begun departing the stadium at around the same time the Buckeyes began rallying from behind to wipe a 33-14 deficit to the Jacksonville Indians off the scoreboard and light it up instead with a thrilling, last-minute 34-33 victory.

“We didn’t play real well, and we’ve got a lot of things to fix still, but our kids played incredibly hard. Their will to win, just their desire, ended up paying off for them,” said Buckeyes head coach Jeff Traylor.

He noted, though, that the defense gave up three big plays and the offense gave away two more touchdowns via turnovers.

“We’ve just gotta get some stuff fixed,” he repeated.

“Defensively, Brandon Barnes had six tackles, one assist, two pressures; Demarco Boyd, seven tackles, three assists, two pass knockdowns; John McPherson, seven tackles, one assist, two pressures; Xavier Fluellen, five tackles, one assist, two sacks; Justus Cheatham, three tackles, one interception; Trey Washington, three tackles, three assists and one interception,” he said.

Ruben Mims is a really good safety, he said. Jonathan Barber and the aforementioned Hooks are good cornerbacks.

“They’ve got a really good team. They’ve got a kicker that kicks the ball in the end zone.”

Asked about the rivalry aspect of this game, Coach Traylor downplayed it.

“Our kids, we get excited to play every week. I don’t know that we prefer to play anybody before anybody else. We just kinda play every week. I’ve never noticed our kids getting ‘up’ for anyone, to be honest with you. They just play.”

The Tigers, like the Buckeyes, are 2-1. They opened with a home loss to Gladewater, 31-14, but then knocked off Atlanta and Clarksville on the road.

They made it to the quarterfinals last year before being eliminated by eventual Class 2A-Division I champion Melissa. Melissa is now in 3A.

Coach Aric Sardinea is in his second season at the helm in Daingerfield.

“If I can hang my hat on one thing right now I’m hoping it’s going to be the offensive line. We have every kid back from last year on the offensive line,” Sardinea said. “They are some big-sized kids and hopefully we can move some people around. That’s what we’re teaching them right now and preaching to them: be physical,” he told ETSN.fm last month.

“I think the linemen are going to be the biggest key,” Edwin Mims agreed. “They’re going to be the strong part of the offense. The running game should be very strong.”

Coach Sardinea told the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune in July, “One of the things we have done recently is make everything as similar as possible starting from the teams at the lower grade levels. That way the boys do not miss a beat whenever those players start playing with the varsity team.”

Coaching, he said, is more than just X’s and O’s.

“The kids are proficient on where we are as a team and as a school,” Sardinea said. “It is more than just football that we coaches are trying to teach, we want our players to be better young men so they will be better people when they leave high school. We feel like we can get everything we want out of our players on the football field, but we also want them to be good young men.”

Anyone who has followed the Gilmer Buckeyes for any length of time realizes that that sounds quite similar to the values Coach Traylor and his staff try to instill in their players as well.

Gilmer Buckeyes Season to Date:

Atlanta, won 31-17

Plano Prestonwood, lost 42-12

Jacksonville, won 34-33

Daingerfield Tigers Season to Date:

Gladewater, lost 31-14

Atlanta, won 17-13

Clarksville, won 21-6

BUCKEYE TICKET LINE:

903-841-7777 — Advance tickets are on sale through Thursday at the Gilmer ISD Administration Building. Sale hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

LUNCH WITH THE COACH:

Noon Wednesdays, Buckeyes Booster Club meets at Gilmer Country Club.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Curtis Brown is in his second NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a defensive back and special teams player.

David Snow is in first NFL season as an offensive lineman on the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills.

Jacob (Jake) Jenkins made his first start last Saturday for the Oklahoma State Cowboys at center. He is a sophomore.